Moroccan Bastilla Recipe

This delicacy is beyond description, but I did not find it difficult to make.I love phyllo! In Morocco, Bastilla is traditionally made with pigeon but can be made with chicken (the easiest), seafood or veggies.
Read more This recipe features layers of chicken, eggs and crushed almonds encased in phyllo pastry, all topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar.
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How to make it

Boil chicken in enough water to keep covered along with the chopped onion and spices until cooked, about 30 minutes.

Drain chicken, reserving about 1/4 -1/3 cup of the cooking liquid. Bone the chicken and cut the meat into small pieces.

Cook eggs, along with 1/4 - 1/3 cup reserved cooking liquid from chicken in a large skillet until soft scrambled, do not overcook the eggs.

Mix cooked eggs with chicken meat until well combined.

Process almonds, sugar and cinnamon in a food processor until almonds are crushed.

The above three steps can be done ahead of time, if desired. refriegarate ingredients until ready to cook.

Phyllo dough can be a little tricky to work with. For best results, thaw completely. It's important to keep the dough you are going to work with wrapped in a slightly damp kitchen towel, as the dough dries out very quickly and becomes fragile and breaks apart. To prepare for the recipe, separate two large sheets of dough, fold each sheet in half, then in half again and wrapp them in a damp towel.

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assemble the dish.

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Brush an oven-proof skillet with melted butter. Unfold layer a phyllo pastry a little more than halfway across the skillet , followed by another layer of dough over the other half, overlapping the two pieces in the middle.

Spread about 1/3 cup of the crush almond mixture over the bottom of the dough , followed by the chicken egg mixture, followed by another layer of almonds .

Carefully fold over the phyllo dough on all sides , then brush the top of the pastry with melted butter.

Bake the bastilla in a 350° F. oven for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned . Carefully turn skillet upside-down on plate to remove bastilla .

Sift a heavy layer of confectioner's sugar over the Bastilla . Pinching cinnamon between your fingers, draw a criss-cross pattern of cinnamon over the layer of confectioner's sugar. Take a paper towel and wipe away excess sugar from the edges of the plate. Serve immediately.

Its a good recipe. I found several & all had different variations. I first made the one on about.com and thought it was way too strong. I found this one and noticed the spices are much less so I liked the looks of it and I made it, it was much better! I did a few things different; I used about a teaspoon and a half of sea salt, added pinch of saffron (about 1/8-1/4 tsp), a little cumin (maybe 1/8tsp), about a tsp of sugar, and I used about 5 skinless boneless thighs and one large breast. Also I boiled the sauce down to a somewhat thick reduction, added a few spoons full to the cooked/shredded chicken, then scrambled my eggs in the rest. I used 2 cups of broth and one stick of butter in the pot where the chicken/onions/spices cooked instead of just water. Boiled on low for about an hour before removing the chicken and reducing the sauce. My stove cooks hot apparently necause once it was at a boil, I reduced it to the lowest heat and still it sat at a low boil the whole time. I used a thick, tall enamel stockpot and this cooked perfectly!Now, ive never had bstilla and I honestly didnt love it, but I made this specifically for my Morrocan friend anyway, who was begging me to make it. He loved it and said it taste just like back home except its "missing some flavor" which he could not figure out..I want to say that maybe the orange blossom water was what he is missing? I used the OBW in my first pie but thought the stuff tasted awful, however I am american, southern raised on southern food (ya know beans and cornbread, catfish, biscuits&gravy haha). The thing that I didnt like was that the pie seems so "heavy" & I dont like the sweet and savory thing. If I made this again I would skip the almonds and skip the sugar/cinnamon on top. Thats MY personal preference, and I realize many people love this dish! It is very good, just not my kind of thing. I can only eat small amounts of it. My Morrocan friend liked it and that all that matters to me because he knows what hes talking about :).. One more thing, for assembling the pie I recommend you search "bstilla about.com", find that page and go use her tecnique for assembling the pie. It was super easy, fun and turned out perfect! And this was my very first experience with phyllo!

The first time I tried B'stilla I couldn't figure out whether it was an appetizer or a dessert. It's a fantastic combo. I notice you did not mention salt anywhere but its important to season this well but don't over salt. I make phyllo triangles - layer of chicken, fold over once, layer of egg, fold again, sprinkle of almond/sugar, fold until sealed and dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon. There are never left overs. Great post!

I tasted this in a Moroccan restaurant in California over 20 years ago and have longed for it ever since. I never knew what it was called. Thanks so much for printing this recipe! Will definitely try it some day when I'm feeling ambitious!